Treasure Hat
by hwc
Summary: A promise from his brother, the future Pirate King.


**Title:** Treasure Hat  
**Fandom:** One Piece  
**Pairing/Characters:** Ace, Luffy ( Makino)  
**Genre/Category:** Gen, fluff  
**Rated:** PG  
**Wordcount:** 884  
**Warnings:** None  
**Spoilers/Setting:** Spoilers for Alabasta arc and slight ones for chapter 551 (shortly after the Impel Down), set three years before One Piece  
**Disclaimer:** One Piece doesn't belong to me.

**Summary:** A promise from his brother, the future Pirate King.

**A/N:** Feedback is adored, and if someone spots any grammar/spelling/punctuation mistakes, I'd love it they would point them out, as this isn't beta read.

* * *

Ace stood, his arms folded in front of his chest, and counted the chimes of the town's church bell.

Four o'clock.

He gripped his arms tightly enough to feel his fingernails dig into his arms.

"Where the hell is that idiot!"

"Ace-kun?"

He turned in surprise, bad mood and the reason for his outburst momentarily forgotten. "Makino-san! Aren't you working today?"

"I am," she answered, "I'm just running some errands. The bar is closed for the while being. It won't take long and no one was in at the moment, anyway. But say, Ace-kun," Makino frowned slightly, "I thought you wanted to set sail at noon?"

At the reminder Ace got ticked off all over again. "I did," he confirmed, gritting his teeth in annoyance, "I'm waiting for my idiot brother to come and say goodbye."

Makino smiled in understanding. "I'm sure he'll be by, soon," she said soothingly, but Ace only snorted sourly. 'Soon' had been four hours ago. "You shouldn't leave without seeing him one last time. Luffy would be crushed."

Ace raised his chin defiantly. "Please don't worry, Makino-san, I won't leave until my dumb brother turns up. And if I have to wait the whole damn night! Oh, I'm sorry, Makino-san," he said, chagrined as he remembered her, "I didn't mean to curse in your presence." He bowed deeply.

He shouldn't let his annoyance with Luffy out on her. It wasn't her fault Luffy was a moron. Maybe he shouldn't leave at all. Clearly, Luffy couldn't take care of himself, and Ace was loath to burden Dadan and Makino-san with the responsibility of looking after his dork of a brother.

A light laugh interrupted his musings and he grinned sheepishly as Makino made her way over to him. "Well, I'm glad Luffy is late. This way I get to wish Ace-kun luck on his journey, too." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and he blushed.

"Thank you, Makino-san," he said formally, and she laughed again.

"Ace-kun is always so polite, so different from Luffy! Sometimes it's hard to believe the two are brothers!"

"Has Luffy given Makino-san trouble?" Ace asked, immediately worried. "He can be a bit dense, sometimes, but he means well. But I can still beat some sense into him before I leave."

She shook her head, but whatever she said in reply was drowned out by a loud shout. They both turned to see a figure running down the street towards them. "Looks like Luffy is finally here. I'll leave you both alone, then. Good luck on your journey, Ace-kun." Makino bowed and Ace was quick to follow. He didn't get to watch her leave, though, as a pair of hands suddenly took hold of his shoulders. He watched, alarmed, as the rest of Luffy's body sped towards him.

"Don't-" The rest of the sentence was cut off as he was tackled to the ground, leaving him lying breathlessly under Luffy, who grinned happily down at him from his perch in Ace's lap.

"I'm on time!" He cried happily, punching the air.

"On time?" Ace wheezed disbelievingly. "On time? Luffy, you idiot! You're four hours late!" He yelled, hitting his bother over the head.

"Ow! But you're still here!"

"That's because I waited for you! You moron! I told you I'd set sail at noon! Where the hell have you been?"

Luffy pouted, and rubbed the sore spot on his head. "I got you a present," he whined. Ace blinked in surprise, only now noticing the bag dangling from Luffy's right hand.

"A present?" He repeated, touched.

"Yup!" Luffy grinned, and thrust the bag at Ace, who caught it swiftly. "Open it! Open it!" He fairly vibrated with excitement.

Ace did, slowly, savoring the warm glow in his chest. That Luffy would get him something... Curious, he pulled out the item inside the bag.

An orange hat?

Ace looked at Luffy in confusion.

"It's a treasure hat! Just like mine!" Luffy pointed to his treasured straw hat for emphasis, grinning from ear to ear. "You're gonna be a great pirate, like me and Shanks, so you need a hat!"

"Luffy...," Ace trailed off, words choking in his throat as a wave of affections washed over him.

"And it's a promise, too! Just like the one I made with Shanks, so you'll return that hat to me once I'm the Pirate King!"

"What?" Ace laughed, startled. "That doesn't make sense! Why should I return the hat once you're the Pirate King? Wouldn't it make more sense if I returned it when I've found the One Piece?"

Luffy cocked his head, thinking hard. "Well," he started, frowning, "I suppose. But Ace doesn't want to be Pirate King, does he? So he has to return the hat when _I'm_ the Pirate King!" He nodded, satisfied with his conclusion, and Ace threw an arm around Luffy's shoulders, pulling him in an awkward one-armed hug.

"In that case I'll keep it safe until you're the Pirate King," he promised, grinning as Luffy laughed and punched the air in victory again.


End file.
